Polk County junior center Sarah Phipps scored on a short basket in the paint Wednesday night against Mitchell – from her knees.
It was that type of first quarter for the Wolverines.
Polk County raced to a 22-point lead at period’s end, then cruised to a 51-24 victory over the Mountaineers in Western Highlands Conference play at Polk County
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
Monday’s tough loss at West Henderson obviously forgotten, the Wolverines (9-9, 3-6) opened Wednesday’s game with a bounce in their steps and points on their mind. Polk County hit 12-of-17 shots in the first quarter, with Lyric Flood and Hayley Kropp drilling jumper after jumper from the outside and Phipps scoring inside. Usually she did so while standing, but did emerge from a scramble on the floor for a loose ball and toss up an overhead shot while kneeling that hit the rim and dropped.
Flood buried a jumper just before the end of the period to give Polk County a 25-3 lead.
“We came out loose tonight,” said Polk County head coach Craig Culbreth. “Monday, we couldn’t buy a basket. Tonight, everybody came out loose and shot the ball well. That’s the best we’ve shot all year in the first quarter.”
The Wolverines pushed the lead to 33-7 midway through the second period before finally cooling. The two teams then largely traded baskets the rest of the way.
“This is a big win,” Culbreth said. “It puts us a game up on Mitchell with Owen coming up Friday.”
Kropp led Polk County with 14 points and added seven assists and five steals. Flood finished with 12 and Phipps had 10.
The Mountaineers, led by Sarah Robinson with nine points, dropped to 3-18 overall and 2-8 in conference play.
Polk County Scoring
Hayley Kropp 14, Lyric Flood 12, Sarah Phipps 10, Savannah Ross 9, India Godlock 4, Ashley Love 2
